Her Broken Dreams
by CaptainSlow
Summary: Can broken dreams be mended? Rose Weasley once knew exactly what she wanted from life but nothing has turned out as planned. A second chance seems too much to hope for, especially now that Scorpius Malfoy is back with secrets from her past.


**Chapter One**

_She was in the middle of an explanation of Golpallot's Third Law when her younger cousin's presence interrupted her writing. "Oh, Rose," Lily Potter sighed, sliding into a chair on the opposite side of the table. She had ditched her school robes to show off a pretty green dress that complemented her bright red hair, which she had charmed into soft feminine curls framing her face. In contrast, Rose Weasley was still in her robes, her Head Girl badge pinned prominently at the front and her own auburn hair pulled back in a tight bun. "You're never going to get a boyfriend if you keep hiding yourself in the library."_

_Rose rolled her eyes at the comment. Those words were a mantra from well-meaning cousins and friends, who kept reminding her she was seventeen and had yet to have a relationship with a boy. "I don't want a boyfriend, Lily," she said firmly. "I'm going to be an Auror and a romantic entanglement would only complicate things."_

"_Well, you're not an Auror yet, are you?" With a twinkle in her eye, Lily leaned forward. "I suggest you snag Stephen while he's still single and use him as your boy toy until graduation. I hear he's a wickedly good kisser."  
><em>

_Although Rose was scandalized by her fifteen-year-old cousin's words – a "boy toy", really – she could not help but grin at the thought of sharing her first kiss with Stephen Crowley. As Head Girl and Head Boy, their relationship was a dreadful bore. He would probably give her detention if she tried anything close to what Lily was suggesting. _

"_Don't worry about me, Lils. Everything has a time and place. When it's time, I'll snag a good bloke," she assured her cousin. "And kissing won't be the only wicked thing we'll do!"_

_Lily dissolved into a fit of giggles. A loud cough came from a nearby table, reminding them they were not alone. Rose turned and saw one of her classmates, Scorpius Malfoy, giving them a pointed look. She flushed as she realized he had probably heard their entire conversation. "Sorry," she mouthed to him, then swatted Lily's hand to get her to quiet down. It took a while for her attention to focus back on her essay._

* * *

><p>"Any news from Stephen? I thought I heard an owl in there."<p>

Rose was on her knees, under the small kitchen table, gathering up documents that were scattered on the floor. "Nothing yet," she answered loudly. "I just dropped a bunch of my papers." When she finally crawled out with all of her parchment in hand, she saw her petite cousin was already by the kitchen entrance, resting against the doorframe with a hand absent-mindedly rubbing the large bump on her midsection.

"I'm sure everything's all right, Lils. Those Ministry meetings just take forever."

Lily sighed then waddled her way to a nearby chair. "I guess you would know." She watched listlessly as Rose stuffed the documents back in her bag.

"I'm here to distract you until Arthur and Poppy come back from school," Rose told her. "Or at least that's what Stephen told me I should do. He knew you'd be worrying yourself over this. It's not as if anything bad is going to happen."

"Well, Stephen's been working so hard for this promotion and I really, really want him to get it! I feel so useless being stuck here in the house. I want to go out, but Stephen won't let me do anything after those healers at St. Mungo's told him I'm in too delicate of a state. It's not like I haven't had a healthy baby before! Did you know that Jenkins and his girlfriend actually threw a private ball for all the Ministry officials last week?" she asked, referring to the other candidate vying for the same position as her husband. "What if they decide that Stephen's not good enough because he's burdened with a wife, two kids, and another baby on the way?"

Rose laughed. "Haven't you thought that maybe Jenkins being involved with a woman half his age may not be such a recommendation to his character?"

"Ugh, he's such a disgusting pervert." Lily wrinkled her nose. "And she's not much better, always wearing those tight, short dresses that turn men's brains to mush."

"Not all men. Stephen's not fooled by looks with no substance. Remember back at Hogwarts, when Gail Cooper was trying to seduce him during those tutoring sessions? If I recall correctly, he was much more concerned about her Runes report than her over-exposed cleavage."

"Gail had the brains and personality of a squid," Lily scoffed, not at all gracious with the girl who had been her main rival for Stephen's affections right before he graduated. "Jenkins' girlfriend is supposed to be a real charmer."

"You're a charmer too," Rose pointed out. "And being the daughter of Harry Potter doesn't hurt when it comes to dealing with those stodgy Ministry officials."

"But I look like a beached whale next to her!"

"Oh, Lily, you silly girl. This isn't a beauty contest between you and Jenkins' girlfriend. Remember they're judging the candidates based on skills and previous experience. And you know Stephen is the most capable one. He's responsible, honest, hard-working, and a natural leader."

Lily pouted. "I still worry 'cause I could never understand how these Ministry people think. Sometimes, I don't even know how you and Stephen think. Or what you do, for that matter. Oh," she suddenly perked up, "so now that you're no longer an Unspeakable, can you tell me what you've been working on for the past thirteen years?"

Rose shook her head. "Sorry, I can't divulge anything. I'm just glad they decided not to obliviate me when I handed in my resignation." She was only half-joking. She had kept a tight hold on her wand when she spoke to her boss the previous week. He had looked unhappy and tried several times to change her mind with a pay raise, to no avail.

She had spent far too many years of her life in a profession she had no passion for. Her research in the Death Chamber had consumed most of her waking hours. She was only allowed to discuss her work with her two research partners – one was a shy, introverted woman in her fifties, who was more comfortable communicating with her cats, while the other was a manic man in his thirties, who exhibited signs of severe attention deficit disorder.

After her first year as an Unspeakable, she realized how her profession was hindering her social life to a great degree. So much of conversations were about jobs – people talked about their work, their bosses, and their coworkers. She had nothing she could say so she was often quiet in social gatherings. At that time, it hadn't mattered so much, given that she rarely socialized outside of her close circle of friends and family, even when she had been at school. And there was the matter of money – being an Unspeakable paid so much more than any other job available to her. She never had to worry about not having enough Galleons in the bank to cover all her needs and more.

But researching death put a great emotional strain on her. She had often sat staring at the veil that had swallowed her uncle's godfather and wondered what it would be like to step into that abyss. She was being paid to think exactly that way but it was both grotesque and depressing. In the last year, the temptation to simply walk into the veil and finally unraveling the mystery of death was becoming far too great. When she realized how close she was to committing suicide, she had written her resignation letter and promptly handed it in.

"What are all those about?" Lily broke through Rose's reverie, gesturing at the full bag on the kitchen table.

"They're legal contracts, detailing how I'll be locked up in Azkaban if I breathe a word about my past work to anyone."

"Merlin!" Lily looked shocked. "Remind me never to have Stephen involved with the Department of Mysteries." Her mind back on her husband, she threw a worried glance at the wall clock. "Oh, why haven't we heard from him yet?"

"It'll be all right," Rose reassured Lily with a semi-hug. It wasn't easy getting her arms around a seated pregnant woman. "I'm making tea. Would you like some?"

"Yes, please. Maybe the tea leaves can tell us what holds for Stephen's future." Rose groaned at the mention of divination but was pleased to see her cousin's mood lightening. It was going to be a long afternoon.


End file.
